<p>“It’s true that I won’t miss what I never had, but what if my parents gave up a job and spent more time with me instead of just giving up on me? When your parents just say that, that hurts.”</p>
<p>Of course, it hurts. It may help, however, if you assume that your parents come from a culture in which parent show their love for their children by nagging and criticizing their kids. Apparently, that’s the way some cultures are, so there’s a chance that’s the way kids are raised in Cambodia.</p>
<p>I remember one person telling me with sorrow that the only time her dad told her, “I love you” was when he was drunk. She looked at me in disbelief when I told her that I envied her because my dad never told me that he loved me. He just criticized me. It wasn’t until after he died – when I was in my mid 30s – that I learned that he had been bragging about me for years to many of his friends. I had absolutely no clue that he respected or liked anything about me.</p>